


Life in the Storm Manse

by TheoMiller



Category: Fantastic Four (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Anne of Green Gables Fusion, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Children, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-05-03 22:53:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5310143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheoMiller/pseuds/TheoMiller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shenanigans, where Dr. Storm is a minister at a multi-faith church in Glen St. Mary and his children and their friends are very scandalous children, who do things like skip Sunday School.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life in the Storm Manse

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fate-motif (Jo_Girard)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jo_Girard/gifts).



> A little Anne of Green Gables fusion with smol Storms, as an apology for the Top Notch Sads that I served up for Jo. Somehow it ended up being, like, a little hijinks and a lot of Franklin Storm Appreciation Life. Also not my usual fare, so, you know, patience and all that. Might end up having more chapters, since it's cute and I have a shocking number of stories to draw from for this folksy sort of stuff.
> 
> Other notes: Harvey is an asshole.

Franklin Storm had just ended his sermon when Sue stood and made her way to the front of the church.

" _Susan_ ," Victor hisses at her as she passes, but she ignores him. Victor covers his eyes, because she's wearing a badly-darned skirt and what is most definitely a boy's shirt tucked into it and scuffed boots, and even worse than the clothes she's wearing is the little determined frown.

But in front of everyone, Sue's determination faltered. In the Richards family pew, Reed held up both thumbs encouragingly.

"I want to explain something," said Sue. "People are saying that Johnny and I skipped Sunday school to clean the house, which is true. But the fact is that we got mixed up about the days because Dr. Allen moved the prayer-meeting, so we thought it was Thursday that Wednesday, and then we came to Sunday School on Saturday when it was pouring rain. So we just assumed it'd be cancelled for the rain, and then we thought we'd clean the carpets on Monday, not knowing it was Sunday.

"And I shook the rugs out in the graveyard 'cause it's the nearest place, except for the Danner yard, and Zachariah Danner has asthma, and I reckoned it'd bother the dead less than the living to have all that dust in the air. I don't see why being respectful of the living has to be considered being disrespectful of the dead.

"And my father isn't to blame for any of this. He was away and didn't know, and he's actually the best father we could ever hope for."

She swallows, looking at the sheer number of faces staring back at her, now that she's got it all out in the air—and then the collection-taker got up, and she hurried off to sit down.

-

The next scandal, because of course there was a _next_ scandal, was that Sue dared Ben to race her on the back of a pig, and Ben absolutely couldn't _not_ do something after Sue dared him to do. So it happened that Sue and Ben went tearing down the road on the backs of two tall, lank pigs.

Franklin Storm saw them on his way up to the house, made a note to remind Sue that such conduct was unseemly, and then went back to composing his next sermon.

Mrs. Richards saw them, screamed, and turned away to clutch at her heart; Jimmy spotted them too and yelled after him that Ma was going to get him; and Mrs. Grimm herself saw her boy and Sue and sighed and laughed and made her way down to the Storm house.

"Is this what you Presbyterians do, then?" she said to Franklin.

He laughed, which was her intention. "Have you heard the drama that occurred at church on Sunday?"

"I would have to be heedless as well as Jewish not to hear that sort of gossip," said Elsie. "She's a bold one, your girl."

"She and her brother are a pair—just as much as any blood siblings," Franklin said.

"My own boy is closer to the Richards' boy than his own brother," Elsie remarked. "Kindred souls, Franklin. Your children and those two are the closest thing I've ever seen to a set."

"Mm, and Miss Cornelia's orphan boy," he said.

Elsie hummed. "On occasion. He's an odd one, Victor. A sharp tongue and a sharper mind. He's awfully good at keeping himself in line. I can't help but wonder what Mrs. Wiley must've done to that boy, to quiet him so."

"Nothing good," said Franklin. "If Miss Cornelia's patience wears thin, I should like to take him in myself. He and Sue are good for one another. He encourages her studies, and she encourages his niceties."

-

Johnny is the next one to incur the community's wrath, namely by flinging a dead snake at Harvey Allen. Except the snake turned out to be not-so-dead, and bit Dr. Allen, who yelped and flung the snake away from himself so hard that it hit a tree. The whiplash killed it properly, so it laid there on the roots while Dr. Allen yelled and railed at Franklin Storm and demanded he discipline his child.

"I don't hit my children," Franklin said, sharply, at the suggestion that he paddle Johnny—he was usually very friendly with his neighbor, but had come home to Allen grabbing Johnny by the front of his shirt and snarling at him, and was doing his best to keep his temper. "Not ever. It does nothing but teach them violence."

"Good God, man! No wonder they're hellions! Punish the little mite, or I'll take the matter to the _law_ ," said Harvey, and waved his injured hand.

Franklin glanced at Johnny, who was round-eyed with the realization that this might have been too far for his father's lenience to extend, this once. Beside him, Sue was frowning, distress in her eyes but a distinct scowling set to her unhappy expression. Reed and Ben hovered by, wide-eyed.

"Jonathan," he said, sharply.

Johnny swallowed and stepped forward; Franklin held him very tightly by the upper arm. _If Harvey presses charges, he could be labelled a criminal before he reaches his teens_ , he thought.

"Jonathan," said Franklin again, helplessly, leaning down just a bit to be eye-level with his son.

"I didn't know it was alive," Johnny whispered.

"I know, son. But it would still have been unacceptable to throw a dead snake at Dr. Allen."

Johnny nodded, eyes downcast.

"And now you've injured the poor man."

"I didn't mean to. I'm really sorry, dad, I didn't mean to hurt him."

"Did you apologize to him?"

Johnny shook his head, ever so slightly, and Franklin turned him by the arm, slightly, to face Harvey. "You need to apologize."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Allen," said Johnny. "I shouldn't have thrown it at you, and I'm really sorry it bit you."

Franklin released Johnny's arm. "You'll help him with anything he needs doing while his hand heals, Johnny. Go inside, now, and wash up, all of you. You're going to be helping me prepare dinner."

All four children filed inside obediently, and Harvey glared over their heads. "That's it?"

"I am _never_ going to be responsible for fear in my child's eyes," said Franklin. "Johnny will help you with your necessaries, and I will see to your injuries myself. If you feel the need to inform me of their wrongdoings in the future, you may do so. But you are not their father, and you will not dictate their punishments."

"I will tell the constable," warned Dr. Allen.

"By all means, tell him that I refuse to beat my son. I'll wait while you fetch him."

Harvey fumed silently, but could not respond otherwise.

"And Harvey? If I _ever_ see you put a hand on one of the children again, Reed and Ben and Victor included, I will see to it that you are the one punished."

With that, he turned on his heel to go supervise the beginnings of dinner.

When they left that night, Ben and Reed grabbed the dead snake from the yard and threw it up on Harvey's roof. It stunk, for a while, and then the skeleton remained for years and years before a heavy storm finally washed it down the gutters.


End file.
